You are in line at your neighborhood bakery. Next to the register there is a sign with the shop's Instagram. You open it on your phone while you wait: the last post is three months old.
The owner knows she needs videos and photos for her social media. If she hires a person to make them, these are the prices she will find.
What businesses pay for videos
These are prices the companies publish themselves, checked on October 21, 2026. Icon states on its page that people film its ads, “no AI”.
What businesses pay for a month of graphics
Social media graphics are sold by the month: a fixed number of posts and stories, with their design and their text.
- In Madrid, the agency YAG Comunicación publishes a plan at 489 euros a month for 12 posts and 8 stories. The fee includes the design, the text and looking after the account.
- In Mexico, the agency Markelop publishes a plan at 6,900 Mexican pesos a month, tax included, for 12 posts, 2 carousels and 4 stories, with design and text.
A carousel is a post with several images you swipe through. A story is a vertical image that stays up for 24 hours.
What it costs to generate with AI
With a person
- appears on camera and goes to the place
- films several takes and edits them
- does a photo shoot of the product
- designs each post by hand
With AI
- a 10-second clip with voice: 23 US cents
- 12 images in 4K quality: about 25 US cents
- your time: choosing what to say, reviewing and approving
We measured those cents ourselves in September 2026, and they are only the cost of generating. They are paid to the provider and they change over time.
Where the business is
Between what the business pays and what it costs to generate, there is a wide gap. Your work fills that gap: knowing what to say, checking that everything is right, and finding the client.
“We talk about hundreds to thousands of dollars per video.”
Eric
In the Spanish-speaking market, prices are lower. In Spain, the same study found that 69% of companies spend less than 1,000 euros a month on this kind of video.
Example, not a promise: these are prices others charge and generation costs, with their date. They do not say how much you will earn.